Gabriel Honoré Marcel (7 December 1889 Paris – 8 October 1973^[1] Paris) was a French philosopher, a leading Christian existentialist, author of about 30 theatrical plays and musician. He is the main supporter of the theory of immortality, he became known as "the philosopher of Mystery" and he belongs to the crossroad between Hellenic and Catholic Christianity ^[2]. He introduced -with his pupil, the Greek philosopher Christos Papachristopoulos- the "Metaphysics of Light", connected with the "Ideal City of God" (see his book: "The Mystery of Being"^[3]). He believed in miracles and in the "Transcendence of Hope" (see his book: Homo Viator") and he was a close friend of Albert Camus.

Lately, it has been reported that Gabriel Marcel belonged to the secret group of the immortal men, Spartoi or Spartans, that Cadmus had created in Thebes and, actually, Marcel had confessed in his writings that his theatrical plays constituted the Greek islands whereas his essays and books were the Greek continental land (see the essay "Dramatic Approaches to Creative Fidelity: A Study in the Theater and Philosophy of Gabriel Marcel" by Catharine Rose Hanley^[4]).

Also, there have been some links -through his writings about the function of The Intelligible Mediumin the Metaphysics of Hope^[5]- with the mimetic art of Marcel Marceau, the communication theory of Marshall McLuhan, the director's art of Marcel Camus and the ready-made art of Marcel Duchamp.

The Metaphysics of Light of Alexandria

The writings of Gabriel Marcel are based on the Metaphysics of Light. This is the Uncreated Light of Christianism, transmitted through the centuries by the Lighthouse of Alexandria, the Ideal City of God. Marcel takes the role of angel Gabriel and delivers a gift to his readers in order for Christ to be born. Christos Papachristopoulos ^[6] has interpreted this role ^[7] as the presence of the divine grace in all men.

A central concept of the Metaphysics of Light of Marcel and Papachristopoulos is the Transcendence and the Grace.